Self-leveling tablet mechanism for a chair

ABSTRACT

A self-leveling mechanism for an article mounted to a chair is disclosed. The chair has an arm member movable from a first position to a second position that is reclined with respect to the first position. The article has an upper surface having an angular relationship with respect to the support surface on which the chair rests. The mechanism includes a pivot member that mounts the article to the movable arm member of the chair. The movable arm member pivots with respect to the pivot member to keep the angular relationship between the support surface and an upper surface of the article the same without manual adjustment of the pivot member by a user when the movable arm member is moved from the first position to the second position. The mechanism can maintain items on a tablet mounted to the armrest during reclining action by keeping the tablet horizontal.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a self-leveling mechanism for anarticle mounted to a chair, and more particularly to a self-levelingmechanism for a tablet mounted to a reclining arm of a reclining chair.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is known that articles such as writing tablets can be mounted to achair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,862 describes a device forsupporting a tablet via an armrest including a mounting socket that isfirmly mounted to the armrest and a tablet with a pin that is insertedin the socket where the tablet can be removed by removing the pin fromthe socket. However, when such devices are used with a chair having areclining armrest, the materials resting on the tablet surface fall offthe tablet due to tilting of the tablet during reclining.

The use of a manually adjustable tablet is one solution to this problem.For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,911 teaches an adjustable positioningsystem for chair-mounted tables where the table may be manually rotatedby a user about a horizontal line by way of angle support using asupport brake. However, the positioning of the table must be adjusted bythe user who must manually place the table in a level position. Suchmanual positioning of the table may be difficult for older users orthose in a healthcare setting.

Therefore, there is a need for a self-leveling tablet mechanism suchthat users may recline furniture with tablets and not lose the materialson the tablet surface due to tilting of the tablet. Such a mechanismwould keep a tablet level as a chair arm changes position during thereclining function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing need is addressed by the present invention that provides aself leveling tablet mechanism for use with a recliner wherein a tabletmounted to the recliner maintains a top surface parallel to a reclinersupporting surface (typically a horizontal floor surface) despitedifferent positions of the recliner and more specifically the reclinerarm during reclining action. In this regard, to increase the comfort ofa person reclining in a chair it is desirable to have armrests tip ortilt backward as the chair reclines. However, to maintain items on atable top or tablet mounted to the armrest during reclining action, thetablet top should/must remain horizontal. The present inventionaddresses this need.

In one aspect, the invention provides a chair including a base forsupporting the chair on a support surface, a seat supported by the base,and an arm member supported by and movable with respect to the base. Thearm member is movable from a first position to a second position that isreclined with respect to the first position. An article (e.g., a tablet)is mounted to the arm member. The article has an upper surface. Theupper surface of the article has an angular relationship with respect tothe support surface. Typically, the upper surface of the article ishorizontal and is parallel to the support surface, that is, the angularrelationship of the upper surface of the article is at 0 degrees withrespect to the support surface. However, any angular relationship ispossible.

The invention includes leveling means attached to the article. Theleveling means keeps the angular relationship between the supportsurface and the upper surface of the article the same without manualadjustment by a user when the movable arm member is in the firstposition or the second position. Thus, in one form, the leveling meanscan maintain items on a tablet mounted to the armrest during recliningaction of the armrest by keeping the top surface of the tablethorizontal.

The leveling means may include a pivot member that mounts the article tothe movable arm member such that the movable arm member pivots withrespect to the pivot member to keep the angular relationship between thesupport surface and the upper surface of the article the same when themovable arm member is moved from the first position to the secondposition. In one form, the pivot member has a hollow upper end, and thearticle is mounted to the pivot member by a pin inserted in the upperend of the pivot member. In another form, the article is mounted to thepivot member by a pin inserted in a socket mounted in the upper end ofthe pivot member, and the socket extends through a top surface of themovable arm member. The pivot member may have one or more outwardlyextending pins that rest on an upper surface of a frame member of themovable arm member such that the movable arm member pivots with respectto the pivot member.

The leveling means may further include a linkage and a rotatable disc.The linkage is attached to the disc and to a bottom end of the pivotmember. The disc moves the linkage in a direction away from the bottomend of the pivot member such that the movable arm member pivots withrespect to the pivot member. The leveling means may further include astop that limits motion of the linkage in a direction away from therotatable disc when the movable arm member is in the first position.

In another aspect, the invention provides a self-leveling mechanism foran article mounted to a chair that rests on a support surface where thechair has an arm member movable from a first position to a secondposition that is reclined with respect to the first position. Thearticle (e.g., a tablet) has an upper surface having an angularrelationship with respect to the support surface. The mechanism includesa pivot member that receives the article and mounted to the movable armmember of the chair. The movable arm member pivots with respect to thepivot member to keep the angular relationship between the supportsurface and an upper surface of the article the same without manualadjustment of the pivot member by a user when the movable arm member ismoved from the first position to the second position. In one form, thepivot member has a hollow upper end, and the article is mounted to thepivot member by a pin inserted in the upper end of the pivot member. Thepivot member may extend through a top surface of the movable arm member.

The mechanism may further include a linkage and a rotatable disc. Thelinkage is attached to the disc and to a bottom end of the pivot member.The disc moves the linkage in a direction away from the bottom end ofthe pivot member such that the movable arm member pivots with respect tothe pivot member. Optionally, a stop is provided that limits motion ofthe linkage in a direction away from the rotatable disc when the movablearm member is in the first position. The pivot member may have one ormore outwardly extending pins that rest on an upper surface of a framemember of the movable arm member such that the movable arm member pivotswith respect to the pivot member.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a chair including a basefor supporting the chair on a support surface, a seat supported by thebase, and an arm member supported by and movable with respect to thebase. The arm member is movable from a first position to a secondposition that is reclined with respect to the first position. A tabletis mounted on the chair, and the tablet has an upper surface having anangular relationship with respect to the support surface. The chairfurther includes leveling means for keeping the angular relationshipbetween the support surface and the upper surface of the tablet the samewithout manual adjustment by the user when the movable arm member is inthe first position or the second position. The leveling means may bemounted on a location other than the arm rest. In one form, the levelingmeans can maintain items on a tablet mounted to the chair duringreclining action of the armrest by keeping the tablet horizontal.

The leveling means may include a pivot member that mounts the article tothe chair such that the movable arm member pivots with respect to thepivot member to keep the angular relationship between the supportsurface and the upper surface of the article the same when the movablearm member is moved from the first position to the second position. Inone form, the pivot member has a hollow upper end, and the article ismounted to the pivot member by a pin inserted in the upper end of thepivot member. The leveling means may further include a linkage and arotatable disc. The linkage is attached to the disc and to a bottom endof the pivot member. The disc moves the linkage in a direction away fromthe bottom end of the pivot member such that the movable arm memberpivots with respect to the pivot member. The leveling means may furtherinclude a stop that limits motion of the linkage in a direction awayfrom the rotatable disc when the movable arm member is in the firstposition.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description, drawings, and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top front left perspective view of a recliner having aself-leveling mechanism according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the recliner of FIG. 1 in an unreclinedposition and having the side panel and associated covering removed toshow the self-leveling mechanism according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the recliner of FIG. 1 in a reclined positionand having the side panel and associated covering removed to show theself-leveling mechanism according to the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the frame of an armrest of the reclinerof FIG. 1 showing selected parts of the self-leveling mechanismaccording to the invention.

Like reference numerals are used to depict like parts throughout theFigures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a self leveling tablet mechanism according tothe invention is shown and will be described in the context of arecliner 10 including a backrest 12, a seat 14, two arm members 16 a, 16b where arm member 16 a houses or supports a self-leveling tabletsupporting mechanism 18. A base 20 supports the chair 10 on a supportsurface 90. The seat 14, the arm members 16 a, 16 b and the backrest 12may be attached directly or indirectly to the base 20 for support by thebase 20 in a conventional manner. The backrest 12 and the seat 14 aremounted between the arm members 16 a, 16 b so that the backrest 12 andthe seat 14 can be moved between an upright position illustrated in FIG.2 and a supported reclined position illustrated in FIG. 3. When in theupright position (FIG. 2), in the illustrated embodiment, the topsurfaces 22 a, 22 b of the arm members 16 a, 16 b are generallyhorizontal. When in the reclined position the arm members 16 a, 16 btilt rearward on the base 20 such that the top surfaces 22 a, 22 b areinclined rearward by a few degrees (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the arm member 16 a forms a cavity 24 thereinthat houses the tablet supporting mechanism 18. The arm member 16 a isgenerally vertically aligned and the top surface 22 a of the arm member16 a has an opening 26 spaced back from a front edge 28 thereof. Thetablet supporting mechanism 18 is generally housed within cavity 24 andincludes, among other components, a cam disc 30, a linkage 32, a pivottube 34, a bezel structure 36, a table assembly 38 and a stop member 40.Cam disc 30 may mounted to the side wall 66 of the arm member 16 a forrotation about a horizontal axis 42 proximate the lower portion ofcavity 24. Linkage 32 is an elongated rigid member having a first endpivotally linked proximate an upper edge of cam disc 30.

Pivot tube 34 acts as a pivot member and is an elongated rigid tubehaving an upper end and a lower end and is positioned within cavity 24so as to be generally vertically oriented with the top end just belowopening 26. The lower end of post 34 is pivotally mounted to the secondend of linkage 32 such that linkage 32 is generally horizontallyoriented within cavity 24. Bezel structure 36 includes a hollow socket50 and a flange 52 that extends laterally from a top edge of the socket50. The lower end of the socket 50 may attached (e.g., by screws) to thetop end of pivot tube 34 with socket 50 extending through opening 26 andan undersurface of flange 52 resting on or adjacent the top surface 22 aof arm member 16 a. Optionally, a connecting object such as a disc witha threaded stud can be placed inside pivot tube 34 for attaching an endof the socket 50 or pin 58.

In FIG. 4, there is shown one method for mounting the pivot tube 34 tothe arm member 16 a. A frame 80 of the arm member 16 a has an uppersurface 82. The pivot tube 34 includes outwardly extending pins 35 a, 35b that rest on the upper surface 82 of the frame 80. A hold down bracket85 is installed over the pins 35 a, 35 b of the pivot tube 34 such thatthe pins 35 a, 35 b of the pivot tube 34 may rotate in a space createdbetween the lower surface of the hold down bracket 85 and the uppersurface 88 of the frame 80. Depressions may be formed in the uppersurface 88 of the frame 80 if desired to provide seats for the pins 35a, 35 b of the pivot tube 34. A hole 76 in the hold down bracket 85allows the upper end of the pivot tube 34 to pass through the hold downbracket 85. The upper end of the pivot tube 34 accepts the bezelstructure 36 as described above, and it should be appreciated that thebezel structure 36 is omitted in FIG. 4 for clarity.

Stop member 40 is an L-shaped member that is secured to the side wall 66of the arm member 16 a within cavity 24 such that, when the chair 10 isin the upright position of FIG. 2, the joint formed by the pivotallylinked linkage 32 and pivot tube 34 is adjacent the generally rightangle formed by stop member 40. The stop member 40 limits motion of thelinkage 32 in a direction away from the rotatable disc 30 when themovable arm member 16 a is in the first position (see FIG. 2).

Table assembly 38 includes a tablet 56, a mounting bracket 57 attachedto the tablet 56, and a pin 58 that extends downward from the bracket57. Pin 58 is sized to be slidably received within the hollow socket 50in the bezel structure 36 and, when received therein, is supportedthereby for rotation about a vertical axis therethrough. Typically, theupper surface of the tablet 56 is horizontal and is parallel to thesupport surface 90, that is, the angular relationship of the uppersurface of the tablet 56 is at 0 degrees with respect to the supportsurface 90. However, any angular relationship is possible by adjustingthe length of pivot tube 34 and cam disc 30 relationship-relativepositions (see FIG. 2).

A locking release mechanism 11 may be included to effectively lock thechair 10 in the upright position unless affirmatively unlocked. Asuitable linkage 67 is provided for movable leg rest members 17 a, 17 bas shown in FIG. 3. The backrest 12 may be supported by the side wall 66of the arm member 16 a by bracket 71, and the seat 14 may be supportedby the side wall 66 of the arm member 16 a by bracket 72.

In operation, when a person is sitting on seat 14 in an upright position(see FIG. 2), the pivot tube 34 is generally vertically oriented andhence, when tablet 56 is mounted to arm member 16 a, tablet 56 has a topsurface that is horizontal. When the person pushes back on backrest 12and the seat 14, backrest 12 and arms 16 a, 16 b rotate toward thereclined position, cam disc 30 rotates in the direction of Arrow A inFIG. 3 from the position illustrated in FIG. 2 toward the positionillustrated in FIG. 3. As the linkage 32 moves, the lower end of tube 34follows such that tube 34 remains generally vertical and tablet 56remains horizontal. Eventually, when the chair 10 is fully reclined, thelinkage 32, the cam disc 30, the pivot tube 34 and the tablet 56 assumethe position illustrated in FIG. 3 and the tablet 56 remains horizontalirrespectively of the reclined state of the chair 10.

While one example of a self leveling tablet mechanism has been shown anddescribed, other versions of the invention are possible. For example,the invention is not limited to supporting a tablet but may be used tosupport any article such as a computer or a television. Also, the tabletsupporting mechanism 18 may be mounted to other parts of the chair suchas the seat or backrest, or components can be added to sense and reactto any relative movement between chair arm and supporting surface.Further, it is contemplated that the disc 30 could mounted to the torquetube of a recliner operating handle such that the linkage 32, cam disc30, pivot tube 34 and tablet 56 assume the position illustrated in FIG.3 when the recliner operating handle is pulled upwardly and/or rearward.Of course, different shapes for the pivot tube 34 and socket 50 are alsopossible.

Therefore, the present invention provides a self-leveling tabletmechanism such that users my recline furniture with tablets and not losethe materials on the tablet surface due to tilting of the table. Themechanism keeps a tablet level as a chair arm changes angular positionduring the reclining function. The mechanism may attach to pre-existingrecliner mechanisms. The invention acts as a leveling mechanism thatkeeps a tablet level as the arm of the chair moves up and down duringthe reclining function. As the arm tilts up, the mechanism is activatedand tilts the tablet forward resulting in a level tablet.

Although the present invention has been described in detail withreference to certain embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciatethat the present invention can be practiced by other than the describedembodiments, which have been presented for purposes of illustration andnot of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldnot be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.

1. A chair comprising: a base for supporting the chair on a supportsurface; a seat supported by the base; an arm member supported by andmovable with respect to the base, the arm member being movable from afirst position to a second position, the second position being reclinedwith respect to the first position; an article mounted to the armmember, the article having an upper surface, the upper surface of thearticle having an angular relationship with respect to the supportsurface; and leveling means attached to the article, the leveling meanskeeping the angular relationship between the support surface and theupper surface of the article the same without manual adjustment when themovable arm member is in the first position or the second position. 2.The chair of claim 1 wherein: the article is a tablet.
 3. The chair ofclaim 1 wherein: the leveling means comprises a pivot member that mountsthe article to the movable arm member, the movable arm member pivotingwith respect to the pivot member to keep the angular relationshipbetween the support surface and the upper surface of the article thesame when the movable arm member is moved from the first position to thesecond position.
 4. The chair of claim 3 wherein: the pivot member has ahollow upper end, and the article is mounted to the pivot member by apin inserted in the upper end of the pivot member.
 5. The chair of claim4 wherein: the article is mounted to the pivot member by a pin insertedin a socket mounted in the upper end of the pivot member, and the socketextends through a top surface of the movable arm member.
 6. The chair ofclaim 3 wherein: the leveling means further comprises a linkage and arotatable disc, the linkage being attached to the disc and to a bottomend of the pivot member, the disc moving the linkage in a direction awayfrom the bottom end of the pivot member such that the movable arm memberpivots with respect to the pivot member.
 7. The chair of claim 6wherein: the leveling means further comprises a stop that limits motionof the linkage in a direction away from the rotatable disc when themovable arm member is in the first position.
 8. The chair of claim 3wherein: the pivot member has at least one outwardly extending pin thatrests on an upper surface of a frame member of the movable arm membersuch that the movable arm member pivots with respect to the pivotmember.
 9. A self-leveling mechanism for an article mounted to a chairthat rests on a support surface, the chair having an arm member movablefrom a first position to a second position, the second position beingreclined with respect to the first position, the article having an uppersurface having an angular relationship with respect to the supportsurface, the mechanism comprising: a pivot member that mounts thearticle to the movable arm member of the chair, the movable arm memberpivoting with respect to the pivot member to keep the angularrelationship between the support surface and an upper surface of thearticle the same without manual adjustment of the pivot member when themovable arm member is moved from the first position to the secondposition.
 10. The mechanism of claim 9 wherein: the pivot member has ahollow upper end, and the article is mounted to the pivot member by apin inserted in the upper end of the pivot member.
 11. The mechanism ofclaim 10 wherein the pivot member extends through a top surface of themovable arm member.
 12. The mechanism of claim 9 further comprising: alinkage and a rotatable disc, the linkage being attached to the disc andto a bottom end of the pivot member, the disc moving the linkage in adirection away from the bottom end of the pivot member such that themovable arm member pivots with respect to the pivot member.
 13. Themechanism of claim 12 further comprising: a stop that limits motion ofthe linkage in a direction away from the rotatable disc when the movablearm member is in the first position.
 14. The mechanism of claim 9wherein: the pivot member has at least one outwardly extending pin thatrests on an upper surface of a frame member of the movable arm membersuch that the movable arm member pivots with respect to the pivotmember.
 15. A chair comprising: a base for supporting the chair on asupport surface; a seat supported by the base; an arm member supportedby and movable with respect to the base, the arm member being movablefrom a first position to a second position, the second position beingreclined with respect to the first position; a tablet mounted on thechair, the tablet having an upper surface having an angular relationshipwith respect to the support surface; and leveling means for keeping theangular relationship between the support surface and the upper surfaceof the tablet the same without manual adjustment when the movable armmember is in the first position or the second position.
 16. The chair ofclaim 15 wherein: the leveling means comprises a pivot member thatmounts the tablet to the chair, the pivot member pivoting to keep theangular relationship between the support surface and the upper surfaceof the tablet the same when the movable arm member is moved from thefirst position to the second position.
 17. The chair of claim 16wherein: the pivot member has a hollow upper end, and the tablet ismounted to the pivot member by a pin inserted in the upper end of thepivot member.
 18. The chair of claim 17 wherein: the tablet is mountedto the pivot member by a pin inserted in a socket mounted in the upperend of the pivot member.
 19. The chair of claim 18 wherein: the socketextends through a top surface of the movable arm member.
 20. The chairof claim 16 wherein: the leveling means further comprises a linkage anda rotatable disc, the linkage being attached to the disc and to a bottomend of the pivot member, the disc moving the linkage in a direction awayfrom the bottom end of the pivot member rotating such that the movablearm member pivots with respect to the pivot member.